Chapter 386 Is This The End Of Our Love
Michael was going to stop his father from hitting me, but he was too late. Before he could utter a single word, I felt the pain from the slap on my cheek.
Lincoln used to treat me like his own, precious daughter in the past. I thought of him as someone who was easy to get along with. However, the thought completely disappeared with that slap of his. Not only did I feel the pain in my cheek, but my heart ached too.
“Didn’t we treat you well after you got together with Michael? I know Josephine has her temper and nags at you a lot, but you didn’t have to do that! No matter what, she’s still your elder! How could you hit her? I can’t believe how wrong I was to even think that you were a sensible daughter-in-law!” my father-in-law shouted while looking at me. His gentle and doting eyes were replaced with disappointment.
In the Shaw family, he was always the one to support my relationship with Michael. Therefore, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad.
“That’s enough! Anna’s still pregnant! How could you hit her? If anything happens to my great-grandchild, it’ll be your fault!” Andy shouted angrily at Lincoln after he saw his son hit me.
I knew Andy was disappointed in me too. If I weren’t mistaken, the reason he was mad at Lincoln was because of the child inside me. If I’m not pregnant, will you still defend me?
“Dad, my wife is still in a critical state in the hospital! I don’t have time to bother with this woman! If anything happens to Josephine, I won’t let her off!”
Lincoln was really furious this time. He used to a gentle and kind man. However, all traces of kindness were gone. I couldn’t do anything but suppress my feelings and stay quiet.
“Anna, you did this. The Shaw family will not forgive you easily. But we’ll decide what do to with you after Josephine’s out of immediate danger,” Andy said as he looked at me with cold eyes. Although he wasn’t as harsh as Lincoln, his fondness toward me was gone.
I kept quiet with my head down the entire time because I had expected their reactions. However, it hurt more than I thought it would be.
Even after Lincoln and Andy went upstairs, I was still rooted in the spot. At that time, Michael was glaring at me with pure fury while suppressing his anger.
“Anna, you will regret this!” he spat coldly as he took a few strides toward me. Right after saying that, he turned and walked away without looking at me.
Over the next few days, I tried to visit Josephine in the hospital to see how she was doing. However, I was chased out by Lincoln every time I went. The way he treated me had completely changed. Right at that moment, I recalled the time of how my own family treated me when Steven was hospitalized in the past. Fortunately, the doctor said my mother-in-law was out of danger on the fifth day. However, no one knew when she would regain consciousness. There was also a possibility that she would be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
Everyone in the Shaw family let out a breath in relief while feeling saddened by the news. It was devastating to them that a person they loved, who was still alive and kicking a few days ago, was lying motionless on a hospital bed. Besides her beating heart and other signs of life, she was no different than a lifeless body.
As for Michael, he hadn’t spoken to me ever since that day. It was as if our love had come to an end. Every passing second of seeing him but not being able to talk to him, as if we were enemies, was pure torture.
There were a few times I wanted to tell Michael the truth. But I couldn’t bring myself to it. What about Steven?
As months passed, my tummy grew bigger. There were only a few days left before the estimated date of delivery. Because of that, I needed to go to the hospital for routine check-ups more frequently.
In the months following the incident, Michael never accompanied me for any check-ups in the hospital. It was as if he had forgotten my existence. There were countless times when I resented him for it. However, I kept telling myself that it was my decision. All of this is because I decided to take up the responsibility. That’s why I should accept the consequences.
I thought Michael loathed me and didn’t care about our baby anymore, but it was until a long time after that I found out he was always following me in secret whenever I went to the hospital. He was afraid that I would get into any accident. However, I didn’t know about this then.
On one of my trips for a check-up, I bumped into Ronan. He became a lot more mature after I got married to Michael. He wasn’t the languid and irresponsible man anymore.
After my check-up, we went to a nearby café and chatted. We sat facing each other.
I tried to force a smile, but I forgot how it felt to curve my lips up for a smile after not smiling for two months. In the end, I could only look at him without any expression.
“Anna, I heard about what happened with Aunt Josephine some time ago. Did you really do it?” Ronan asked while looking straight into my eyes. His question broke the silence.
I knew he would ask me about this. However, I couldn’t help but feel nervous about it when he really did. Since things had already happened, there was no need for me to deny anything.
“Yeah. It’s true,” I replied plainly and sipped my drink to hide my true feelings.
“I know you’re lying to me by just looking at your eyes. I’ve known you for a long time, Anna. You’re not that kind of person,” he said seriously while staring into my eyes. There wasn’t a hint of surprise in him.
My heart raced a little by his response. It was probably because of the fuzzy feeling that someone trusted me, but I didn’t have any other choice.
“It’s true that I did it. Thank you for trusting me,” I replied. I didn’t have the courage to look at him because I knew my eyes would give me away. At that time, I was focused on calming myself down so that he wouldn’t see through me.
“You can’t deceive me, Anna. I’m sure it has nothing to do with you! What made you shoulder the blame? Don’t you know what will happen to you after you admit it was you?” Anxiety and worry filled his eyes. It was obvious that he cared a lot about this.
Ronan and Michael were completely different. Michael was calm and composed who preferred to keep things to himself. On the contrary, Ronan wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. At that time, he didn’t even try to hide his concern for me.
“Ronan, I’m really grateful for your trust, but it is the truth. I have nothing else to say.”
